The present invention relates to disinfectant compositions, particularly disinfectant compositions for fabric.
The invention has been developed primarily for use as a disinfectant composition for heavily soiled and wet household fabrics and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use.
The disinfection and deodorizing of heavily soiled and wet household fabrics is difficult for many reasons and is exacerbated by prolonged periods of wetness. Prolonged periods of wetness regularly occur due to such events as water leakage, broken water mains, storm damage and natural flooding disasters. Flooding due to natural disasters can represent a worst case scenario because carpets and fabrics are also soiled by mud and other debris which require extensive cleaning and disinfection to achieve restoration of fabric.
In the past, biocides have been employed to disinfect and deodorize wet household fabrics but most fibres employed in household fabric adsorb biocides. Accordingly, the fabric itself can inactivate many common biocidal molecules and render disinfection and deodorization ineffective over a large area of fabric. In an attempt to overcome this problem the concentration of active biocide has, in the past, been increased to overcome the loss of biocide by adsorption or a biocide, minimally reactive to fibres, is utilized to minimize the loss of biocide by adsorption.
However, many such fibres are also known to adsorb significant quantities of water, when wet, and the water adsorbed is known to alter the concentration of active biocides whether applied in high or low concentrations. The resultant dilution of biocide concentration levels significantly reduces biocide activity and the dilution effect can be even more significant when the biocides form part of a cleaning agent with surfactants, disinfectant and deodorants.
Ideally, an effective fabric disinfectant and deodorant should be capable of removing spots and stains encountered on most household fabrics and the effect of wet fabric can therefore reduce the efficiency of a cleaning agent formulated from the said disinfectants, deodorants and surfactants.
Another factor affecting the efficiency of biocides and cleaning agents incorporating biocides is that wetness of fabric, particularly in soft floor coverings, is often accompanied by the growth of microbes, mould and bacterial spores often already resident in the fabric before the fabric is wetted. The combination of wetness and organic soil provides an ideal nutrient medium for microbe growth such as algae, bacterial spores, moulds and microbes indigenous to natural water supplies and soil.
In addition, if the fabric is exposed to soiling and odours from household animal deposits such as urine or faeces under conditions of minimal domestic hygiene, disinfection and deodorization presents a major challenge because the deposits are associated with strongly odouriferrous and microbially active substances which remain in the fabric and contribute to the odour of the fabric.
The widely varying requirements imposed by the foregoing factors makes the formulation of an effective product which will both disinfect, deodorize and clean household fabrics successfully, exceedingly difficult. Indeed, at this time there is no single product available that overcomes the problems associated with the above factors, without side effects. This is despite the accumulated knowledge that is available on the formulation of disinfectants for other purposes.
The most difficult situations occur when fabrics are grossly fouled as occurs when houses are flooded as a result of pipe breakages and natural disasters.
Biocides are available that are able to kill, under laboratory conditions, a wide range of microbes that can be found in dry and wet household fabrics. Examples of such biocides are formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and other dialdehydes, halogens such as bromine, chlorine and iodine, stronger oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide and sodium peroxide, and low molecular weight alcohols such as ethanol and isopropanol. These biocides are generally accepted as "high level disinfectants" in hospitals. However, under practical conditions for household fabrics, all have serious practical limitations that restricts use by reason of either obnoxious odour (aldehydes), chemical toxicity and/or destructiveness (halogens), irritancy and toxicity (aldehydes), potential for fibre damage and/or dye reduction (oxidizing agents) or flammability (alcohols).
Likewise while many chemicals and chemical compositions are claimed to reduce, react with or otherwise eliminate offensive odours and disinfect fabrics (and indeed are regularly promoted for the deodorizing and/or perfuming of domestic carpeting) no existing product is effective in disinfecting, deodorizing and, if necessary, cleaning under the severe conditions imposed by prolonged periods of wetness.
It is an object of the invention, at least in its preferred embodiment, to ameliorate at least some of the deficiencies of the prior art.